Notice

This blog is no longer active. My life has taken turns that have left me with no extra time or energy to devote to this blog's maintenance and the uploading of additional content. I do continue to receive and respond to comments on posts on the blog, through email, and on Facebook. I still love to listen to old Christian hardcore albums, as well as reminisce about and discuss these bands. I hope this blog continues to serve as a valuable resource on the subject, which keeps me bound to continuously replying to incoming emails with requests for downloads whose links on the blog are no longer functioning. This is no problem and I am happy to continue offering such a favor. If a link doesn't work then contact me.

All the music posted on this blog belongs to the artists. It's all on this blog for the solely to spark memories, discover Christian hardcore bands you never knew existed, and to be a reminder to go and search for and purchase these records! Please, if you enjoy any of the records featured here then try to get your hands on a physical copy. If you are associated with any band on this blog and would like me to either remove the links to downloads of your music or not be featured on this blog at all then please just email me.

Friday, May 28, 2010

I apologize for not posting for a couple of weeks. I have been ultra busy trying to get shit together with this whole finding someone new to do vocals for Killing Years thing, working on lyrics and such so we can get Kevin Byers (ex-Morning Again, Waking Kills the Dream) into the studio to do all of the vocal tracks for the new three song demo, working, and starting a company with our bassist Steve. I think I may take a break for a while on posting music, unless I come across something I just absolutely have to get onto the blog. Meanwhile, I plan to post some scans of record/CD artwork/layouts and scans of The Crucial Times zine from the 90s. The Crucial Times was a Christian hardcore zine written by my dude Chris who recently hooked me up with some super rad Christian hardcore vinyls, CDs, and cassettes; as well as tons of issues of The Crucial Times. Check out all the things Chris does on his website. Super creative dude.

So, I guess blogs replaced zines? When I was reading through these issues of the zine and going through these old Christian hardcore vinyls, CDs, and cassettes; it did some things to me.1. It made me miss zines.2. It made me miss old hardcore record artwork/layouts.and3. It sent me down memory lane the furthest I have ever been.

Here are some key things people in our hardcore scene today can do to really bring back the feeling of true hardcore:1. Book bands that aren't just huge, mainstream hardcore bands.2. Throw your shows in basements, rooms in houses, and other makeshift venues. My favorite show I have been to was a 7 Angels 7 Plagues show that was in a living room when I was in high school.3. Keep pushing the DIY ethic. Make, print, and distribute your band's music yourselves! It is always so much more personable and you get a sense of the heart that band is putting into their music.4. Book shows with local bands, with the "main act" being just an out of town band, not necessarily a big touring band.5. Keep pushing paper fliers for shows! I know the internet is the easiest/quickest way to send information (especially hardcore shows), but paper fliers hit those kids that maybe don't follow the main crowd in your local scene. Plus, people like me have collected those fliers forever! We want to keep doing it.and6. No more typical band pictures. Nothing better than getting a record and checking out all of the artworks inside and NOT seeing some corny promo picture of the band, or some typical live shot of the band. Zao did this well on some of their stuff. Pretty awesome.

Anyway...soon I'll post some cool scans of stuff.

Again, I appreciate anything people donate to this blog. People that send me links, music, physical records, zines, etc., you are loved!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

A little bit in the opposite direction of Christian hardcore, but I can't not help out because Disembodied still reigns heaviest band of all time in my book (I think I can say that continued into Martyr AD as well). My copy is very dear to me haha, but I lack a working CD drive on my computer, so never actually get to rip stuff on my own computer whenever I want. I usually have to go out of my way to rip something on another computer somewhere. Gets very frustrating. I have Disembodied's entire collection on my computer, but a follower of Christian Hardcore Records asked me if I could put the word out that he is looking for a physical copy of this record in particular. If anyone has one they are willing to sell, email me so I can let the dude know. I'm sure this shit will get re-released anyway since Disembodied is playing again. If anything, he can refer to their Psalms of Sheol discography record they released somewhat recently, as it features all five songs from Existence in Suicide.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

The Through and Through Collection was put out in 1999 by band member Mullet. I got this copy at Cornerstone from Caleb Olsen/BTH. I am not sure where other copies went, but I do know that they were hand numbered to 100, and this is copy 13. It is a 16 page zine with a cdr inside of it. The cover / back picture is actually 2 pages each. The text is printed on a clear paper on the outside and the pictures are printed on normal pages inside. The cd contains a total of 29 tracks, including some live, unreleased, demo, and previously released songs, and some random things like interviews and chatter. I highly suggest tracks 28 and 29. Page 14 in the zine offers some more insight on where some of the tracks came from. I doubt you might find this zine in a distro or something anywhere, but if you ever find any of the regularly released material, you should totally pick it up. Boot To Head probably still has copies of Joshua Aiken (1 , 2) and Subterfuge split.

These guys were from North Carolina. All I know about them, thanks to Ryan, is that the original bassist on Hopesfall's first record, Frailty of Words (1 , 2), played in this band. I also think a dude in this band went on to later do vocals for Hopesfall. All Laurelei has ever released is the 9 songs on this self titled record, but apparently they did record another song that never was released. They played the epitome of early 2000's metalcore, but it isn't all that bad. Check it out below.

Followers

Why Christian hardcore?

Hardcore is a method of speaking your mind. A Christian hardcore band is no different than the band preaching animal rights, preaching civil rights of any sort, hating the current President of the time, preaching other religious beliefs, proclaiming loyalty to the straightedge lifestyle, or expressing the love or deterioration of self in result of a member of the opposite gender. It neither was started to shove the "word of God" down the throat of others nor was it created to build up a sense of self-pride.

Just as gospel and praise music are forms of worship for Christians, straightedge-influenced hardcore praises the integrity of the straightedge movement, or love songs speak of unconditional love and admiration for another human being, Christian hardcore music does the same. Major Christian hardcore bands, such as Zao, Focused, Unashamed, Focal Point, Six Feet Deep, Strongarm, Overcome, No Innocent Victim, xDisciplex, and many more, have done the same exact thing for their faith as a band such as Earth Crisis has done for animal rights and the vegan lifestyle.

These bands discovered the ultimate way to spread the "word of God." Through connections with fellow man and having the love for a counterculture like the hardcore scene, Christian hardcore bands can display their faith in an admirable and respectable manner. In a scene where atheism, agnosticism, and being "God Free" are often an underlying ethic to fitting the standard, Christian hardcore bands became a breed of truly spirit-filled, and in some cases even more enjoyable, musicians and live shows that have created a respect for their music amongst all walks of life in the hardcore scene.

Christian hardcore music led me into the greater hardcore community that has continued to exist internationally and--hopefully--eternally. Some bands featured on this blog, especially Strongarm, Focal Point, Zao, Focused, and Stretch Arm Strong, were the first Christian hardcore bands I had the opportunity to hear and enjoy, and I'll continue to for the rest of my life. I cannot forget Earth Crisis and Sick of it All, for they got me into hardcore in the first place when I was just 12 year old. All of these bands changed my life.